Thank you for taking the time to learn a little bit about me and my blog!
My name is Maria. I am a holistic nutritionist, food blogger, recipe developer, aspiring food photographer, and dog lover.
I created this blog to keep track of my recipes and share my passion for nutrition and wellness.
I know that many people still think that healthy food is boring, but I believe that it’s delicious and beautiful.
About My Recipes
I don’t count calories or follow any trendy diets. I just do my best to eat a variety of fresh whole foods.
My goal is to create clean eating balanced meals with good sources of protein, low-glycemic carbohydrates, healthy fats, lots of veggies, greens, and all other great tasting foods that are good for you.
Even though I am not vegetarian, many of my recipes are meatless or vegan. I learned a lot about the advantages of the vegetarian diet when I was attending the nutrition school and believe that most of us can benefit from eating more plants.
I also talk a lot about low-glycemic eating because I have a family history of obesity and type 2 diabetes. A few years ago, I started paying more attention to keeping my blood sugar stable and it has been working quite well for me.
Since I am not diabetic, this blog is not a blog for diabetics. It’s simply a blog with clean eating recipes that are often naturally low GI.
About My Work
In 2014, I completed the Applied Nutrition Diploma program at the Canadian Alive Academy of Natural Health and received my Holistic Nutritionist Certification.
Since then, I’ve been focusing on recipe development, food photography and freelance writing. My work has appeared on popular websites as well as in print.
Here are a few highlights:
- My recipes have been featured in many round-ups on websites such as Country Living, Buzzfeed, Graitist, Yummly, FaveHealthy Recipes, and many more;
- I wrote articles about healthy eating and cooking for the Vitamix blog;
- In addition to developing recipes for my blog, I also create recipes for Curious Cuisiniere;
- My recipes are available through the online meal planning service called EatLove;
- My recipe and photo for Chocolate and Raspberry Chia Pudding were published in Sweet Dreams Magazine (by Lisa Kochen & Backen, Germany).
About My Team
The members of my blogging team are:
- my husband who is the Chief Executive Taste Tester;
- my neighbor Carole who is my English Language Adviser;
- our budgie Blue who is the Sound Engineer in charge of the pleasant work environment.
A Little Bit About Me
Here are a few facts I thought you might want to know about me:
- I learned how to cook by following recipes and carefully measuring ingredients;
- I am a Russian-born Canadian and now live in the most multicultural city in the world – Toronto (voted by me!);
- I read cookbooks like novels;
- I like to sew my own clothes;
- My favorite foods are coconut, chocolate, and raspberries.
Where to Find Me
Join me on my social media sites:
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/mariaushakova.blog/
- Pinterest: www.pinterest.com/MariaUshakova
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/MariaUshakova.FanPage
Disclaimer
Even though I am a Certified Holistic Nutritionist, the nutrition information provided on my blog is not to be used as nutrition therapy of any kind. Consult your healthcare provider if you intend to change your diet. The information on this blog is for entertainment purposes only.
The images on this page are by Trevor Harris Photo.
Enid
Friday 14th of January 2022
Hi! Your profile is very appealing to my interests! Reading about you I searched Alive Academy and found some nutritional courses that I may be interested in. Many thanks for sharing your education and experience. I am a Romanian Canadian living in Vancouver and I will gladly follow you to learn more about nutrition and how can I improve the family meals.
Maria
Friday 28th of January 2022
@Enid, I am so glad you found the information helpful! Thank you so much for checking out my blog :)
Barbara
Thursday 30th of September 2021
I have had an absolutely wonderful time examining the recipes here. I was looking specifically for a recipe for a salad using raw turnips and found that and some other wonderful recipes. I would like to come back again and I have included my email address below.
Maria
Thursday 30th of September 2021
@Barbara, I am so glad you like my recipes! At this time, I am unable to send out email newsletters. For updates, you can follow me on facebook right here: www.facebook.com/MariaUshakova.FanPage
Craig
Sunday 1st of August 2021
Maria: question. Can you do a similar article for ancient grains? I bake sourdough bread using red fife, kernza, spelt and Einkorn. It’s to find sprouted organic flour like kernza and spelt. When possible but I’ve not been able to find the reliable glycemic index or glycemic load data. Thanks for your help.
Maria
Sunday 1st of August 2021
@Craig, Try https://glycemicindex.com/gi-search/ . If they don't have it, then it's probably not available.
Food Floozie
Thursday 29th of July 2021
Hello Maria - Hope you are well.
This evening I was thinking of making a salad of mixed greens and roasted veg and came across your recipe for same.
I changed it a bit based on what I have on hand - chopped up a potato, a carrot, part of an onion, a couple of shishito and baby bell peppers - put those in a ** recycled plastic bag that bread came in, and then poured in olive oil, a dash of fish sauce, garlic powder, ground coriander and a dash of toasted sesame seed oil, twisted the bag shut and massaged those wet ingredients into the chopped veg and dumped out on to a rack suspended in my trusty cast iron skillet lined with foil - cooked at 450 on the convection setting of my toaster oven. They are cooling now for addition to the greens.
Don't have goat cheese presently so will crumble in some Mexican cotija, and top with clipped fennel fronds and julienned fresh basil leaf.
Dressing? Seasoned rice vinegar, olive oil, dash of sesame oil and squirt of Japanese Kewpie mayo whisked to emulsify.
While the roasted veg cools I'm writing this and enjoying a bit of pino grigio in anticipation of my lovely late dinner salad.
** When I have them on hand I like to use recycled plastic bags to marinate or to coat veg with oils and seasonings - recycles the bags again and makes cleanup easy . .
Hope you are eating all the good stuff!
Hope
Friday 20th of March 2020
Hello Maria, I found your website, when I was googling how to make thyme tea. Voila, you popped up. This morning, as I sit at my computer in the US, we are beginning day 5 of self-isolation. My husband and I are seniors. I never thought of myself as old, until the worldwide epidemic hit. I love your website, your sense of humor, and your words. I will be following you on fb. Also, we adopted our daughter from Russia. What part of Russia are you from? She is from Tyumen. Stay well. Drink tea, and may we all breathe well. Hope
Maria Ushakova
Friday 20th of March 2020
Hi Hope! Thank you so much for your lovely comment. It made my morning so much better :) Isn't it ironic that in times like these, when most of us are staying at home in isolation, we realize that we are all connected to each other in more ways than we've ever imagined. I am from Novosibirsk, which is not that far from Tyumen considering Russian distances. Stay home, stay safe, and hopefully, the situation will improve soon.